last call lectures: the wild west was woke: how hollywood erased the radical history of the american west

The American West Was Gay, Non-White, and Anti-Billionaire and hollywood propagandized it.

We’ve all heard the tales of the American Wild West, but what if there was a side that was lost to history? Or perhaps, intentionally obscured? Seventh-generation Kansas farmer and rancher Chloe Burns walks us through some of the true history of the west, covering issues from gender to race to working-class solidarity, and why these stories were rarely shown on the silver screen.

Chloe burns is a comedian, filmmaker, and writer of the upcoming one-woman show, Virago!, a western about the most notorious female outlaw you’ve never heard of. She holds a degree in Film & Media Studies from the University of Kansas. Her film work includes the 2025 documentary about a regenerative agriculture project in Western Kansas, titled The Wallace Project: Year Four, which has won awards at film festivals centered around climate and water security. Her comedy often centers around her split life as both a rancher and city-dweller.

how the night runs: 45 minutes of chloe burns walking us through the immigrant roots of storytelling in the city, 15 minutes of q&a, then 45 minutes of small group discussion with other people just as curious as you are.